DEBT An obligation to pay in the future for a present benefit. Most of the biblical treatment of debt is within the civil law of ancient Israel, and all biblical instruction concerning debt is in a context of charitable, benevolent lending to relieve distress. Commercial lending, in which a business borrows cash to finance its operations, was well known in the ancient world, but does not appear in Scripture.

Old Testament

Mercy to the Poor

The law commanded Israelites to lend willingly to their countrymen who experienced need (Exod 22:25), and lenders were forbidden to hold any of the debtor’s basic necessities as collateral (Exod 22:26–27; Deut 24:6; Job 24:3). The law forbade lenders from entering a borrower’s house to get the collateral for a loan; instead, the borrower had to bring the collateral out to the waiting lender (Deut 24:10–11). This provision allowed the borrower to retain a measure of independence and dignity during the transaction. More importantly, the lender was unable to look around the house and increase his demands for collateral upon seeing a desirable item.

Obligation to Repay

Israelites were obligated to repay debts; failing to do so amounts to wickedness (Psa 37:21). God allowed an insolvent debtor to be sold into temporary slavery in repayment (Lev 25:39; 2 Kgs 4:1), hence the warning in Prov 22:7: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender” (ESV). The maximum term of slavery for a fellow-Israelite was six years (Exod 21:2; Deut 15:12), or he would go free in the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:52–55), whichever came first.

Usury Prohibited

The Law and the Prophets emphasize that Israelites were not to charge interest on loans to their countrymen (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36; Deut 23:19–20; Psa 15:5; Prov 28:8; Ezek 18:8–17), although they were free to charge interest to non-Israelites (Deut 23:20). Because a lender could have used his money profitably elsewhere, lending it at no interest amounted to a charitable bonus to the borrower. In addition, removing lenders’ financial incentive kept them from encouraging the distressed to go into debt.

Cosigning Discouraged

Many warnings appear regarding the practice of cosigning a loan. One who cosigns takes on the obligation of possibly repaying the loan without partaking of the loan’s benefits. In light of the Israelite’s responsibility to relieve his neighbor’s distress, it might seem anomalous for God to describe a cosigner as “void of understanding” (Prov 17:18), but if the cosigner does not himself have the financial means to lend to his neighbor, neither does he have the means to repay the loan he cosigned (Prov 22:26–27). Also implicit in the warnings is the higher probability that a debtor who has a cosigner is more likely to default, thus increasing the likelihood of the cosigner’s ruin.

New Testament

There is little instruction in the New Testament Scriptures regarding monetary debt itself (beyond the simple obligation to pay what is owed; Matt 5:25–26; Phlm 1:18–19). Jesus teaches His followers to lend mercifully (Luke 6:34–36), and He uses debt as an illustration in His parables (Matt 18:23–35; Luke 16:1–8). Addressing a wider context (beyond finances), Jesus tells people to seek God’s forgiveness for their debts, just as they forgive any debts owed to them (Matt 6:12).

The passage about debt that attracts the most attention is Rom 13:7–8: “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (ESV). The instruction to “owe no one anything” traditionally has been understood as a simple restatement of the earlier command—“pay to all what is owed to them” (e.g., Barnes, Notes on the New Testament). However, some modern writers interpret the command as forbidding all debt (Gary North, Inherit the Earth, 97).

DEBT An obligation to pay in the future for a present benefit. Most of the biblical treatment of debt is within the civil law of ancient Israel, and all biblical instruction concerning debt is in a context of charitable, benevolent lending to relieve distress. Commercial lending, in which a business borrows cash to finance its operations, was well known in the ancient world, but does not appear in Scripture.

Old Testament

Mercy to the Poor

The law commanded Israelites to lend willingly to their countrymen who experienced need (Exod 22:25), and lenders were forbidden to hold any of the debtor’s basic necessities as collateral (Exod 22:26–27; Deut 24:6; Job 24:3). The law forbade lenders from entering a borrower’s house to get the collateral for a loan; instead, the borrower had to bring the collateral out to the waiting lender (Deut 24:10–11). This provision allowed the borrower to retain a measure of independence and dignity during the transaction. More importantly, the lender was unable to look around the house and increase his demands for collateral upon seeing a desirable item.

Obligation to Repay

Israelites were obligated to repay debts; failing to do so amounts to wickedness (Psa 37:21). God allowed an insolvent debtor to be sold into temporary slavery in repayment (Lev 25:39; 2 Kgs 4:1), hence the warning in Prov 22:7: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender” (ESV). The maximum term of slavery for a fellow-Israelite was six years (Exod 21:2; Deut 15:12), or he would go free in the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:52–55), whichever came first.

Usury Prohibited

The Law and the Prophets emphasize that Israelites were not to charge interest on loans to their countrymen (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36; Deut 23:19–20; Psa 15:5; Prov 28:8; Ezek 18:8–17), although they were free to charge interest to non-Israelites (Deut 23:20). Because a lender could have used his money profitably elsewhere, lending it at no interest amounted to a charitable bonus to the borrower. In addition, removing lenders’ financial incentive kept them from encouraging the distressed to go into debt.

Cosigning Discouraged

Many warnings appear regarding the practice of cosigning a loan. One who cosigns takes on the obligation of possibly repaying the loan without partaking of the loan’s benefits. In light of the Israelite’s responsibility to relieve his neighbor’s distress, it might seem anomalous for God to describe a cosigner as “void of understanding” (Prov 17:18), but if the cosigner does not himself have the financial means to lend to his neighbor, neither does he have the means to repay the loan he cosigned (Prov 22:26–27). Also implicit in the warnings is the higher probability that a debtor who has a cosigner is more likely to default, thus increasing the likelihood of the cosigner’s ruin.

New Testament

There is little instruction in the New Testament Scriptures regarding monetary debt itself (beyond the simple obligation to pay what is owed; Matt 5:25–26; Phlm 1:18–19). Jesus teaches His followers to lend mercifully (Luke 6:34–36), and He uses debt as an illustration in His parables (Matt 18:23–35; Luke 16:1–8). Addressing a wider context (beyond finances), Jesus tells people to seek God’s forgiveness for their debts, just as they forgive any debts owed to them (Matt 6:12).

The passage about debt that attracts the most attention is Rom 13:7–8: “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (ESV). The instruction to “owe no one anything” traditionally has been understood as a simple restatement of the earlier command—“pay to all what is owed to them” (e.g., Barnes, Notes on the New Testament). However, some modern writers interpret the command as forbidding all debt (Gary North, Inherit the Earth, 97).